we are of the fiscal cliff. tonight we will all begin the larger set of tax increases in american history. that is new year's to you from our elected officials. did i also mentioned you are getting a pay raise in the new year as well. all this could have been avoided if congress got its act together, but the doomsday option hit and the president set in motion. there is a chance of some sort of deal, but we have to wait until the new year. let's go directly to washington senior washington correspondent, peter barnes, with details of negotiations. >> reporter: still some pieces being negotiated tonight, particularly on the sequestration, those automatic spending cuts that are supposed to take effect on january 2nd. about $100 billion. about half of that on the past -- defense department. still trying to work through the details of some democratic and republican side. it's unclear if there will actually get to a vote in the senate on that tonight, but they could if they work something out. otherwise we have the fra